You have reached the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey
Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory. Highlights for the week ending
August 7 include sightings of SANDWICH TERN, RUFF, news on other migrants
and an announcement regarding a special CMBO sponsored boat tour to
CHAMPAGNE ISLAND aboard the SKIMMER, news of a summer pelagic birding trip
and news of CMBO's upcoming programs and field trips. [Transcriber's note-
for those interested in butterflies, Nature Notes were not included on the
tape this week.]

A RUFF was still being seen this week at the West Cape May Impoundements - seen
on August 6th and 7th. These impoundments are on the south side of the
canal, east of the Seashore Avenue bridge. At the time of high tide, up to
1000 shorebirds may be present at this site. Other highlights this week included
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, 5 WESTERN SANDPIPERS and up
to 60 STILT SANDPIPERS.

No less than 3 reports of SANDWICH TERN were received this week. One was at
North Wildwood on August 3rd. Two, an adult and a juvenile flew by the
Concrete Ship on August 3rd and one was on Champagne Island on the 7th.

Because of high water, the [Nature Conservancy's] South Cape May Meadows
[Migratory Bird Refuge] is holding very few shorebirds. However 4 SORA were
there on August 5th and a very early NORTHERN PINTAIL was there on August
5th and 6th. BLACK TERNS have been regular both there and at Bunker Pond in
the [Cape May Point] State Park.

A second summer LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was on the beach between the
Meadows and the State Park on August 7th. Also on the 7th two SURF SCOTERS
were on Alexander Avenue on Cape May Point.

Bob Carlough, of THE SKIMMER birding by boat tours, reports they are now
seeing lots of migrant shorebirdsand heron and egret activity is at a peak
now as heronries are in full swing. The Champagne Island BLACK SKIMMER
colony is doing well. This is the state's largest nesting colony of Black
Skimmers.

Champagne Island is a favorite roost site for migrant terns and migrant
shorebirds. Most sightings of Roseate, Sandwich, Black, Caspian, and Royal
Terns in the summer occur there! THE SKIMMER, a very stable 37 foot
catamaran with open and enclosed viewing decks, runs three daily birding by
boat trips and each week the Friday evening, Sunday afternoon, and Monday
morning trips are sponsored by CMBO and benefit CMBO. Details follow and
are found at the end of this tape in program information. The special CMBO
sponsored boat trip
every Friday evening from 5:30-8:30 p.m. will visit Champagne Island. To
register for these CMBO sponsored boat trips, call The Skimmer directly at
609-884-3100 and say you learned of the trips through CMBO!

PIPING PLOVERS, LEAST BITTERNS, and SORA RAILS have all been enjoyed at The
Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (TNC) recently. Along
with CMBO's many walks there, the staff and interns are offering the
following walks: Every Friday at 8 a.m. Clay Sutton, TNC's
Naturalist/Ecologist, will lead a three-hour walk. The fee is $8. Every
Wednesday and Every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. TNC interns will lead
one-hour walks for FREE.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD activity is at a peak in August. CMBO's garden and
feeders are quite active. If you have hummingbird feeders in your yard, be
sure to clean them out thoroughly each week and refill with fresh solution.
Otherwise the solution ferments and can be dangerous to the hummers.

A late summer pelagic birding trip off the coast of NJ out of Brielle will
leave Sunday, August 25, at 5 a.m. and return that same day at about 8 p.m.
Cost of the trip is $65/person. Contact "Focus on Nature Tours" for more
details and to register at 302-529-1876.

Some of CMBO's upcoming preregistration programs follow: "Hummingbird Walks"
will be offered August 9, 13, 14, 15, and 16. A "Bombay Hook for Shorebirds"
field trip is scheduled for August 17. Also on August 17, Keith Seager will
lead a "Wildflower Walk at Bennett Bog" -- Bennett Bog is jointly owned by
NJ Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy and is nationally famous for
its many rare and unusual plants. A Week Long Birding Workshop for
Shorebirds and Passerines (with Pete Dunne and Louise Zemaitis), August
19-23 still has room. Our next MEMBERS NIGHT is Wednesday, August 21, with
Pete Dunne sharing "Selected Readings, the Stories behind the Stories!" And
on August 31, Pete Dunne will teach a workshop on "Binoculars and Spotting
Scopes for Birders." August 24-25 Fred Mears will teach a 2-day
"Bird-watching For Beginners Course." The same course will be taught again
September 21-22. Call CMBO (at 609-884-2736) for the Summer Program
Schedule, which includes details and information on registration for these
special programs.

CMBO sponsored "Birding By Boat trips" aboard THE SKIMMER are offered Every
Sunday from 1:30-3:30p.m. and Every Monday from 9:30-11:30 a.m., and Every
Friday from 5:30-8:30 p.m.. The Friday trip runs to Champagne Island. To
register for these CMBO sponsored boat trips, call The Skimmer directly at
609-884-3100 and say you learned of the trips through CMBO!

Our daily bird walks are underway and require no preregistration -- JUST
COME! Every Tuesday Pete Dunne leads a "Birds of the Seashore" walk through
The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, meetingat 7:30 a.m.
Every Wednesday Tom Parsons, Fred Mears, or Bill Glaser leads a "Birding
Cape May
Point" walk, meeting at 7:30 a.m. in the raised picnic pavilion at the Cape
May Point State Park. Every Friday Bill Glaser leads a "Sunset Bird Walk"
through The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, meeting at
5:30 p.m. Every Saturday Tom Parsons, Fred Mears, or Bill Glaser leads a
"Birding Cape May Point" walk, meeting at 7:30 a.m. in the raised picnic
pavilion at
the Cape May Point State Park. Beginning August 1st, a "Wildflower Walk"
with Keith Seager will be offered Every Thursday, meeting at 10am at The
Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge. Beginning August 11th,
a "Birding by Bike" tour with Louise Zemaitis will be offered Every Sunday
meeting at
7:30am in the Cape May Point State Park's outer parking lot. Also beginning
August 11th, Louise Zemaitis will offer a "Bookstore Safari" through CMBO's
bookstore Every Sunday at 1:30 pm. Beginning August 14th, Pat Sutton will
offer a "Butterfly Walk" Every Wednesday at 10:00 am., meeting in the raised
picnic pavilion at the Cape May Point State Park. Beginning August 15th,
Vince Elia will lead a "Hidden Valley Bird Walk" Every Thursday at 7:30 am,
meeting at the small clam shell parking lot on the south side of New England
Road 0.3 miles past the intersection with Bayshore Rd. CMBO's Summer Program
Schedule details all our programs through September. Stop by our office and
pick it up or give us a call at 609-884-2736 and we'll mail it to you.

The Cape May Bird Observatory is a research and education unit of the New
Jersey Audubon Society. Our aim is to perpetuate and preserve the
ornithological significance of Cape May. Your membership supports these
goals and this birding hotline. For more information regarding Cape May
birding, our programs and field trips, and the Observatory, call our office
at 609-884-2736 or send
a request for information to CMBO, P.O. Box 3, Cape May Point, NJ 08212.
If you are in the area do not hesitate to visit our headquarters and growing
birding bookstore at 707 E. Lake Dr., Cape May Point. We're open DAILY, 9-5.

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of New Jersey Audubon's Cape May
Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland, and
Atlantic Counties and near shore waters. Updates are made on Thursday
evenings, more often if warranted. Please report sightings of rare or
unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Thanks for calling and GOOD BIRDING!